1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally an to image recording/reproducing apparatus, and more particularly, to such a still picture recording/reproducing apparatus as a DAT (Digital Audio Taperecorder) for recording or reproducing numerous still picture composite data by using a magnetic tape as a recording medium.
2. Description of the Background Art
In recent years, image recording/reproducing apparatuses have been already put to practical use which record still image data obtained by an electronic still camera or a CCD (Charge Coupling Device) solid state image sensing device, by using an image recording apparatus with a magnetic disk or a magnetic tape as a recording medium. The image data can thereafter from the medium recording by using a reproducing device, thereby reproducing a still image.
As a recording medium, a 2-inch video floppy, for example, is capable of recording 25 frames of still picture data such as television images. A 5-inch optical disk is capable of recording 1600 frames of still picture data such as television images and a 120-minute DAT tape is capable of recording 2880 frames of still picture data such as television images. However, with an increase in the number of frames to be recorded, more time is required for searching for a frame. For searching for desired image data among numerous image data, it is necessary to sequentially reproduce frames one by one from the beginning until a desired image is displayed or to have a search function of finding a desired image by a search and displaying the same.
It is well known (in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 1-221076) that a device having a conventional search function at the time of reproduction records the contents of the entire image data recorded on a recording medium in advance on a text frame or a graphic frame, in a form equivalent to an index of a book. This enables a user to select a desired image for the search by using a pointing device (mouse) or by entering data through a keyboard, from a menu frame displaying data reduced and aggregated while reproducing the entire image data at the time of reproduction.
Searching for desired data among a plurality of image data recorded on a magnetic disk or a magnetic tape requires reproduction of the each frame as described above, and is not practical since the time necessary for the search is increased. Such a search is also impractical in that an indefinite correspondence between image data on a text frame and a graphic frame and desired image data prevents a user from reliably recognizing the desired image data.